Further expansion of evolutionary fossil time ranges

We are commonly challenged to explain the fossil order worked out by evolutionary
scientists. Fossils are, of course, crucial to the evolutionary story; their sequences
and placement in the evolutionary time scale are fundamental to the evolutionists’
grand scheme. However, outcrops with fossils are usually widely scattered and further
fossil collecting commonly brings surprises, such as the expansion of the ranges
of fossils either up or down within the geological column.1-3 Since
I last reported on fossil range expansions in 2009, many new reports have been published.

Supposed fish-amphibian transition pushed back 18 Ma

Figure 1. Tracks discovered in a quarry have been dated 18 Ma earlier
than the supposed transition from fish to tetrapod (from Niedzwiedzki11).

One of the most sensational expansions is that of the supposed origin of tetrapods
from fish by about 18 Ma earlier in the evolutionary timescale.4,5 This
change is even more damaging to evolutionists since a few years before this research
was published there was a big splash about a new missing link between fish and amphibians.6 This supposed transition occurred
after the new biozone base derived from the unique fossil Tiktaalik found
in northeast Canada. But the new discovery of tetrapod tracks (figure 1),
which should push the supposed origin of tetrapods even further back than 18 Ma,
has caused consternation over the range changes.7,8 (On a personal note, in an
exchange of letters to the editor in the local newspaper between a certain evolutionist
and myself, Tiktaalik was commonly brought up as a fulfilled prediction
of evolutionary theory, until in my last letter I pointed out the new tetrapod track
discovery.)

Colonial eukaryotes are 200 Ma older

Another major shift in evolutionary time was caused by the discovery of macroscopic,
and probably multicellular, fossils in strata dated at 2.1 billion years old in
the evolutionary timescale.9,10 This pushes back the origin
of such fossils 200 million years. After eliminating the possibility of them being
inorganic structures, scientists now believe that the fossils are colonial eukaryote
organisms. However, that date corresponds to a time in evolutionary history of insufficient
oxygen level in the atmosphere combined with a toxic mix of greenhouse gases. The
discovery raises more questions for the evolutionary scenario than it answers.

Pushing back in time dinosaurs and certain reptiles

Many recent changes have been proposed regarding dinosaurs, birds, and supposed
dinosaur-bird transitions. A new discovery of a type of theropod dinosaur, an alvarezsauroid,
in China pushes back this type of dinosaur 63 million years.12 This is important because it is thought to be
in the line leading to birds.

A dinosaur-like animal was recently found in Tanzania.13 Evolutionists are reticent to call it a dinosaur
because it is too “old”. It is classified as a member of the Silesauridae.
This suggests to the evolutionists that the evolution of crocodiles and birds was
rapid and happened earlier than previously thought.14

A ‘temporal or time paradox’ exists between the supposed first bird
dated at 150 Ma and the ‘feathered dinosaur’ ancestors of birds dated
at about 125 Ma. The sequence is reversed from that expected by evolution. But now
evolutionists believe they have solved the temporal paradox. A new supposed feathered
dinosaur was found in China that is now claimed to be 155 Ma, about the time expected
for the evolution of birds.15
But there is one big problem with this supposed transition in that it had feathers
on its feet. It was, therefore, four-winged, like Microraptor. So, the
evolutionists have ‘solved’ their temporal paradox by now having to
believe that the evolution of flight first went through a four-winged stage only
to lose the long foot feathers.16

As research continues, new human abilities are found to be increasingly older, causing
surprise within evolutionary quarters.

Human abilities pushed back in time

Evolutionists of course believe that man’s abilities evolved in conjunction
with his biological evolution. Early man was thus both primitive biologically and
technologically. But as research continues, new human abilities are found to be
increasingly older, causing surprise within evolutionary quarters. For instance,
music and the ability to play musical instruments are an indication of fully human
behavior. Bone flutes have been found in archaeological sites in Europe back to
about 30,000 years BP within the evolutionary time scale. But a new discovery in
southwest German caves places bone and ivory flutes at more than 35,000 years old,
possibly as old as 40,000 years, demonstrating a well-established musical tradition
by that time.17 Although
Neandertals were supposed to have been in Europe up to about 30,000 years ago, the
flutes are attributed to modern humans. Is it possible that evolutionary bias has
excluded the Neandertals from being the musicians?

And speaking of human ‘inventions,’ the evolutionists have now found
evidence that man was able to weave and possibly dye flax as far back as more than
30,000 years ago in what is now the Republic of Georgia.18,19
Moreover, copper smelting by man has recently been dated at 7,000 years BP, an extension
back of 500 years.20

Many more time extensions

Many odd creatures have been discovered in the Burgess Shale of southwest Canada.
Scientists assign many of these to new phyla.21
The same creatures have since been found elsewhere in the world and assigned the
same ‘age’. The ‘Burgess Shale fauna’ supposedly disappeared
in the Middle Cambrian. But now they have been discovered in the Lower Ordovician
of Morocco, extending their range upward by about 25 Ma.22 Also at the same location, some organisms previously
thought to be higher on the evolutionary “tree” were also found, including
cheloniellid and horseshoe crab fossils and fossil marks, which are “ …
the oldest unequivocal examples of these groups, pushing their likely origins back
into the Cambrian.”23
Bioturbation was rare—a common problem for geologists, since it would be expected
during the proposed time frame. This problem is also seen elsewhere.24

Bryozoans are invertebrates characterized by colonial branching growth of a calcareous
skeleton. Bryozoans have a wide fossil range, from the Ordovician to the present,
and specific species are used as index fossils. Recently, a bryozoan was discovered
in the Upper Cambrian in southern Mexico, pushing the origin of this phylum back
8 Ma.25 With this discovery,
all skeletalized metazoan phyla now extend back into the Cambrian.

Bryozoans are not the only problem. The middle Silurian supposedly marks the time
of the sudden appearance of vascular plants in the fossil record. Earlier, less
evolved land plants— liverworts, hornworts, and mosses— are supposed
to have been present but their fossil record is sparse. A new report of seven Appalachian
carbonaceous fossils provides evidence that complex multicellular eukaryotes colonized
the land at least 25 million years earlier than vascular plants.26 The exact taxonomy of these plant parts could
not be identified, so scientists had to rely on carbon isotopes to determine the
terrestrial origin of the plant fossils, assuming of course that their interpretation
of carbon isotopes is correct.

Another range change has occurred with the discovery of diverse fossil echinoderms
from the middle Cambrian of northern Spain, which pushes back the records of several
types (figure 2).27 These
fossils suggest that the echinoderms diversified as early as the early Cambrian.

These finds demonstrate that the confidence that evolutionists project to the public
on the order in the fossil record is dramatically overstated.

In another case, the record of living groups of bony fish originated in the Devonian
(about 400 Ma). Prior to that time, paleontologist had found only isolated teeth
and scales. But a new fossil of a bony fish has been found in southern China in
the Silurian. This pushes the origin of bony fish back about 18 Ma.28

Up until recently, crustacean feeding specializations were thought to have remained
simple until well after the Cambrian. However, the discovery of a sophisticated
feeding apparatus in an Early Cambrian arthropod has pushed back the major expansion
of large-bodied, particle-handling arthropods by more than 100 Ma.29 Finally, another ‘living fossil’ has
been found. A type of tiny damselfly supposedly disappeared from the fossil record
250 to 300 Ma ago, but has been found alive in Australia.30 Why hasn’t it been found in younger rocks?

Conclusion

These finds demonstrate that the confidence that evolutionists project to the public
on the order in the fossil record is dramatically overstated. Furthermore, the corollary
confidence in the geological time scale is also suspect; ongoing empirical discoveries
seem to undermine it at every step. Therefore, a healthy skepticism in both the
fossil record and the rock record, as interpreted by secular scientists for many
years, seems appropriate. Larger questions about their very validity also seem overdue.

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Comments closed

A reader’s comment

Jay M.,United Kingdom, 4 December 2012

"Tiktaalik was commonly brought up as a fulfilled prediction of evolutionary theory, until in my last letter I pointed out the new tetrapod track discovery."

I quite often get Tiktaalik thrown at me as a fulfilled prediction aswell. Evolutionists I debate often claim that it's discoverer used Evolution theory to predict exactly where to look, and he found it. I still don't know how to respond to this.

Shaun Doyle responds

The simplest answer is that subsequent finds of tetrapod tracks 20 million years older than Tiktaalik have trivialized Tiktaalik. See Is the famous fish-fossil finished? The evolutionary story of the fossils changes so rapidly that today's 'amazing prediction' is almost bound to become tomorrow's discard.